Methods and apparatus to facilitate local time-based digital audio measurement

ABSTRACT

Example methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture to facilitate local time-based digital audio measurement are disclosed. Example methods disclosed herein include a hello ping may be received from a media player. The media player may be associated with a location based on the hello ping. The media player may be associated with a time offset based on the location. A configuration file may be generated to include the location and the time offset. The configuration file may be sent to the media player.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure relates generally to media crediting and, moreparticularly, to methods and apparatus to facilitate local time-baseddigital audio measurement.

BACKGROUND

In recent years, audio media is sometimes measured according to when theaudio media is consumed. In some cases, determining the local time ofwhen the audio media is consumed is useful when measuring the audiomedia.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a table of example dayparts that may be used to perform localtime-based digital audio measurements.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example system in accordance with theteaching of this disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a table illustrating example location identifiers andcorresponding example metro data.

FIG. 4 is a table illustrating example metro data and correspondingexample time offset data that may be used by the example system of FIG.2.

FIG. 5 is a more detailed block diagram of an example characterizer toimplement the system of FIG. 2 in accordance with the teachings of thisdisclosure.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions which may be executed to implement the system of FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions which may be executed to implement a hello ping generatorof a media player of the system of FIG. 2.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions which may be executed to implement a characterizer of thesystem of FIG. 2.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions which may be executed to implement an activity pinggenerator of the media player of the system of FIG. 2.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions which may be executed to implement a data proprietor of thesystem of FIG. 2.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an example computer capable of executingthe instructions of FIGS. 7 and 9 to implement the media player of FIGS.2 and 5.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of an example computer capable of executingthe instructions of FIG. 8 to implement the characterizer of FIGS. 2 and5.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of an example computer capable of executingthe instructions of FIG. 10 to implement the data proprietor of FIGS. 2and 5.

The figures are not to scale. Wherever possible, the same referencenumbers will be used throughout the drawing(s) and accompanying writtendescription to refer to the same or like parts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Audience measurement entities (AME) desire knowledge on how usersinteract with media devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, smarttelevisions, etc. In particular, audience measurement entities want tomonitor media presentations made at the media devices to, among otherthings, monitor exposure to advertisements, determine advertisementeffectiveness, determine user behavior, identify purchasing behaviorassociated with various demographics, etc.

In census-based digital audio measurement techniques, audiencemeasurement entities may insert (or embed) an exposure monitor in amedia player associated with a digital audio media provider via, forexample, a software development kit. In some such examples, when anonline user, for example, a digital audio media consumer, accesses themedia player (e.g., visits a digital audio media provider website,etc.), the exposure monitor generates an activity ping that iscommunicated to a data proprietor, such as Facebook®, Yahoo®, Google®,etc. In some such examples, the activity ping may include a cookieobtained from the media player (e.g., which may be a web browser, amedia player application, etc.). The data proprietor may then attributean impression to a user account corresponding to the cookie andaggregate the impressions and audience information based on demographicsassociated with the user account. Activity pings may also includeadditional information, such as a media player identifier, a mediaidentifier, a timestamp, etc.

An audience measurement entity may then generate digital audio mediareports based on the audience information provided by the dataproprietors and the activity ping. The digital audio media reports maybe used by media providers to determine, for example, effectiveness oftheir marketing, how much to charge for streaming ads, etc. One examplemeasurement that may be useful to media providers is the reach and/ornumber of unique audience members exposed to their media duringpredetermined periods of local time, referred to as local dayparts,which will be described in further detail below in conjunction with FIG.1.

Methods and apparatus disclosed herein facilitate local time-baseddigital audio measurement. Example methods disclosed herein includereceiving a hello ping from a media player, associating the media playerwith a location based on the hello ping, associating the media playerwith a time offset based on the location, generating a configurationfile including the location and the time offset, and sending theconfiguration file to the media player.

Example apparatus disclosed herein include a communication interface, alocation associator, a time offsetter, and a configuration filegenerator. In some disclosed examples, the communication interfacereceives a hello ping from a media player sends a configuration file tothe media player. In some disclosed examples, the location associatorassociates the media player with a location based on the hello ping. Insome disclosed examples, the time offsetter associates the media playerwith a time offset based on the location. In some disclosed examples,the configuration file generator generates the configuration file basedon the location and the time offset.

In some disclosed examples, digital audio media is measured with respectto a predetermined period of time, which may be referred to as adaypart. In some examples, dayparts may be defined to cover activitiesduring which users may consume digital audio media, such as, but notlimited to, a morning commute, an evening commute, a lunchbreak, and/orthe like. Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, dayparts maybe defined to include various combinations of days of the week, such as,but not limited to, a Monday through Friday workweek, a Saturday throughSunday weekend, an entire Sunday through Saturday week, and/or the like.Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, dayparts may be definedto include predetermined blocks of time within a day. As shown in theexample of FIG. 1, a daypart may be assigned an example daypartidentification 110, may be part of an example daypart group 112, and maybe assigned an example daypart label 114. The daypart label 114 may bedescriptive of the predetermined time period a particular daypartcovers, such as, but not limited to, early morning, breakfasttime,morning commute, morning rush hour, morning, late morning, midday,lunchtime, early afternoon, afternoon, late afternoon, evening, earlyevening, evening commute, evening rush hour, dinnertime, late evening,twilight, night, late night, graveyard shift, first shift, second shift,third shift, dawn, dusk, and/or the like.

In some examples, dayparts may be formatted using a local timestamp 116of a time that is local to the user who is consuming digital audiomedia. It should be understood that the term “local time” refers to timedesignations based on divisions of a 24-hour day used at a particularlongitude on earth where 12:00 PM, 1200 hours, noon occurs when the sunis approximately at its highest point in the sky as viewed from thatparticular longitude and 12:00 AM, 0000 hours, midnight occurs when thatparticular longitude is approximately fully turned away from the sun asthe earth rotates about its axis. In other words, it should beunderstood that the term “local time” refers to the customary time usedin a particular time zone. Refocusing on FIG. 1, the daypart with adaypart identification 110 “daypartID1,” for example, may cover a periodfrom 5:00 AM to 10:00 AM each day of Monday through Friday, inclusive.In other words, dayparts may be a convenient way to describe portions ofdays that may be of particular interest. Rephrased, dayparts may be auseful shorthand to describe predetermined periods of a day. In additionto dayparts 110 and local timestamps 116, local time may be furtherdescribed with a week identification 118 and/or a reporting periodidentification 120. In some examples the week identification 118 maycover seven days beginning and ending at a particular local time on aparticular day of week (e.g., beginning and ending on Thursdays at 5:00AM). In some examples, the reporting period identification 120 may cover28 days (e.g., four seven-day weeks) and may thus be associated withfour week identifications 118. Thus, a customary 365 day, 52 week yearmay be divided and described with thirteen reporting periods 120 of fourweeks, which may be described with week identifications 118. Forexample, as illustrated in FIG. 1, a local time of 12:18:10 on Dec. 21,2015 may be formatted as local timestamp 116 “12/21/2015 12:18:10,” maybe described with daypart identification 110 “daypartID8,” which belongsto daypart group 112 “Weekly Dayparts” and has a daypart label 114“Monday-Sunday 6 AM-6 AM,” and may be further described with weekidentification 118 “WeekID4,” of reporting period identification 120“RP13” (e.g., the fourth week of the thirteenth reporting period).However, because dayparts may be specified relative to the digital audiomedia consumer's local time, additional time zone offset data may be toneeded to analyze digital audio media measured during a daypart on aglobal scale. For example, because digital audio media reports sent bymedia players may have a timestamp that records a particular local timewith respect to the media player, but may lack data related to where thereport was made and the respective time zone, additional respectivelocal temporal information may be required to relate reports made bymedia players located in different parts of the world. For example,during data processing and analysis, without local time zone data, adigital audio media report made in Berlin at 5:00 PM may be confused asoccurring simultaneously with another digital audio media report made inChicago at 5:00 PM, although Berlin is seven hours ahead of Chicago.Disclosed example structures and methods to add time zone data to localtime digital audio media reports are further described in FIGS. 2-7below.

Focusing now on FIG. 2, an example system 210 disclosed herein foradding time zone data and location data to digital audio media reportsincludes an example media player 212, an example characterizer 214, andan example data proprietor 216. The media player 212 is connected to thecharacterizer 214 and to the data proprietor 216 via an example network217. The media player 212 may be any type of networkable media playbackdevice including, but not limited to, a mobile telephone, an mp3 player,an internet-connected radio, a wifi-enabled radio, a Bluetooth-enabledradio, a set-top box, and/or the like. The characterizer 214 and thedata proprietor 216 may be any type of networkable computing deviceincluding, but not limited to, a personal computer, a server, a laptop,a notebook computer, and/or the like.

The media player 212 of the illustrated example includes an examplehello ping generator 213. The hello ping generator 213 generates andsends an initial digital audio media report, referred to as a hello ping218 to the characterizer 214 via the network 217. The example hello ping218 includes digital audio media reporting data such as, but not limitedto, a location identifier 219, and/or the like. The location identifier219 may be any type of geographic designator such as, but not limitedto, global positioning coordinates 220, an internet protocol address222, and/or the like. The media player may further generate audio mediadata 224, which may include data such as, but not limited to, a mediaplayer identifier 226, a media identifier 228, a player event identifier230 and/or the like. In some examples, the media player identifier 226identifies the media player's 212 make, model, serial number, and/or thelike. In some examples, the media identifier 228 identifies a songtitle, an artist, a musical genre, a broadcast type, a program title,and/or the like. In some examples, the player event identifier 230identifies commands from the media player 212 such as, but not limitedto, a play command, a pause command, a skip command, a stop command,and/or the like. In the illustrated example, the media data 224 (shownin phantom) is included in the hello ping 218. In some examples, thehello ping 218 further includes the local timestamp 116 corresponding towhen the media player sends the hello ping 218 to the characterizer 214.In some examples, the media data 224 and the local timestamp 116 may beomitted from the hello ping 218. In some such examples, the hello ping218 may not be generated by the hello ping generator 213 of the mediaplayer 212 to have the media data 224 or the local timestamp 116. Thus,in some such examples, the characterizer 214 generates the localtimestamp 116 when the characterizer 214 receives the hello ping 218 viathe network 217 from the hello ping generator 213 of the media player212.

The characterizer 214 generates an example configuration file 234 usingthe hello ping 218. In some examples, the configuration file 234includes the local timestamp 116, the week identification 118 and thereporting period identification 120 corresponding to the local timestamp116, plus metro data 236 and time offset data 238. In some examples, theconfiguration file 234 further includes the media data 224 (shown inphantom). For example, the characterizer 214 of FIG. 5 adds thecorresponding week identification 118, reporting period identification120, metro data 236, and time offset data 236 to the local timestamp 116and the media data 224 to produce the configuration file 234. Thecharacterizer 214 may store and correlate the week identifications 118and the reporting periods 120 with the local timestamp 116. Metro data236 and time offset data 238 will be described in further detail belowin conjunction with FIGS. 3-4. The characterizer 214 then sends theconfiguration file 234 to the media player 212 via the network 217.

The media player 212 further includes an example activity ping generator239 which receives the configuration file 234 from the characterizer214. In some examples, upon receiving the configuration file 234,activity ping generator 239 included in the media player 212 uses theconfiguration file 234 to produce a completed digital audio mediareport, also referred to as an activity ping 240. In some examples, theactivity ping 240 includes the media data 224, the local timestamp 116,the metro data 236, and the time offset data 238, the daypartidentification 110, the week identification 118, and the reportingperiod identification 120.

In some examples, in which the hello ping 218 and, therefore, theconfiguration file 234 includes the media data 224, the activity pinggenerator 239 may use the configuration file 234 as the activity ping240. Thus, in some examples, the configuration file 234 is the activityping 240. In some examples, the activity ping generator 239 may appendthe configuration file 234 to the audio media data 224 to produce theactivity ping 240. For example, the activity ping generator 239 maycombine media data 224 stored by the media player 212 with theconfiguration file 234 to create the activity ping 240.

In some examples, the configuration file 234 provides a templateidentifying the media data 224 to be included by the activity pinggenerator 239 in the activity ping 240. In some such examples, whengenerating the activity ping 240, the activity ping generator 239 mayprocess the configuration file 234 by filling the configuration file 234with the appropriate media data 224. In some examples, the configurationfile 234 includes instructions to be executed by the activity pinggenerator 239 to populate fields in the configuration file 234 with themedia data 224 to generate the resultant activity ping 240. Further, inthe illustrated example, the activity ping generator 239 of the mediaplayer 212 sends the activity ping 240 to the data proprietor 216 viathe network 217.

The data proprietor 216 includes an example activity ping processor 242which receives the activity ping 240 from the activity ping generator239 via the network 217. In some examples, upon receiving the activityping 240, the activity ping processor 242 included in the dataproprietor 216 analyzes the activity ping 240 to produce a report of themedia player 212 user's habits and preferences based on the media data224, the local timestamp 116, the metro data 236, and the time offsetdata 238 included in the activity ping 240. Further, the activity pingprocessor 242 of the illustrated example can aggregate multiple activitypings 240 from different geographic locations (e.g., around the world)to produce a time adjusted, respective, and comparative report ofmultiple media player 212 users' habits and preferences. Examples ofmetro data 236 and time offset data 238 used by the activity pingprocessor 242, as well as example structures and methods to produce themetro data 236 and the time offset data 238, are further explained byFIGS. 3-7 below.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example location database 308 that may be used bythe example characterizer 214 to correlate metro data 238 and locationidentifiers 219. In some examples, the metro data 238 is furthercorrelated to the global positioning coordinates 220. In some examples,the metro data 238 is additionally or alternatively correlated to theinternet protocol addresses 222.

In the illustrated example, the metro data 238 includes a postal code310, a first metro identifier 312, and a second metro identifier 314. Itshould be understood that metro data 238 may include any number ofadditional metro identifiers, postal codes, area codes, or othergeographical divisions. In some examples, the postal codes 310 are USZIP codes. In some examples, the first and second metro identifiers 312,314 are associated with geographical regions. In some examples, thesecond metro identifiers 314 may be a subpart of the respective firstmetro identifiers 312 (e.g., second metro identifiers 314 may be a moreprecise location designation within respective first identifiers 312).For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the second metro identifier 214 “Loop”is a subpart of the first metro identifier 312 “Chicago,” as the Loop isa neighborhood of and contained in the city of Chicago. Similarly, thesecond metro identifier 314 “Hudson Valley” is a subpart of first metroidentifier 312 “Greater New York City,” as the Hudson Valley is a regionin the geographical area surrounding New York City. In some examples, aportion of the second metro identifier 314 may overlap with the firstmetro identifier 312 (e.g., the first metro identifier 312 and thesecond metro identifier 314 may neighbor one another and may both covera particular location). For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the secondmetro identifier 214 “San Jose” and the first metro identifier 312 “SanFrancisco” are associated with postal code 310 “94301” as the postalcode 310 “94301” denotes Palo Alto, a city located approximately midwaybetween San Francisco and San Jose. However, in some examples, the firstmetro identifier 312 may not be associated with a corresponding secondmetro identifier 314. For example, first metro identifier 312 “Hawaii”is not associated with a more precise and/or does not overlap with asecond metro identifier 314.

In some examples, the characterizer 214 of FIG. 2 associates thelocation identifiers 219 carried by the hello ping 218 with therespective postal code 310. In some such examples, the characterizer 214may associate the global positioning coordinates 220 with the respectivepostal codes 310. For example, the global positioning coordinates 220may include latitude and longitude data which can be correlated by thecharacterizer 214 to a latitude 316 and a longitude 318 mapped in thelocation database 308 to a postal code 310 and/or the metro identifiers312, 314. In some examples, the characterizer 214 additionally oralternatively associates the internet protocol address 222 with therespective postal code 310. Further, in some examples, the characterizer214 may associate the postal code 310 with the respective first andsecond metro identifiers 312, 314. In some examples, the associationsbetween the location identifiers 219, the postal codes 310, and thefirst and second metro identifiers 312, 314 are predetermined. Examplestructures and methods used by the characterizer 214 to makeassociations between the location identifiers 219, the postal codes 310,and the first and second metro identifiers 312, 314 will be describedbelow in conjunction with FIGS. 5-6.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example time database 408 the may be used by thecharacterizer 214 to correlate the first and second metro identifiers312, 314 and the time offset data 238. In some examples, time offsetdata 238 may include a Greenwich Mean Time offset 410, a day start timeoffset 412, a week start time offset 414, and a daylight savings timeoffset 416. In some examples, the Greenwich Mean Time offset 410, theday start time offset 412, the week start time offset 414, and thedaylight savings time offset 416 are predetermined numerical values. Itshould be understood that, in some examples, the time offset data 238may include one or more time-related offsets in addition to, or as analternative to, the example time offsets illustrated in FIG. 4.

In some examples, as shown in FIG. 4, the Greenwich Mean Time offset410, the day start time offset 412, and the daylight savings time offset416 may be measured in seconds. In some examples, as depicted in FIG. 4,the week start time offset 414 may be measured in days. However, one ormore of the Greenwich Mean Time offset 410, the day start time offset412, the week start time offset 414, and the daylight savings timeoffset 416 may be measured in any other unit of time, or in combinationof units of time.

In some examples, the Greenwich Mean Time offset 410 associated withrespective first and second metro identifiers 312, 314 may correspond tothe time zone of the postal code 310 also associated with the respectivefirst and second metro identifiers 312, 314. For example, postal code310 “60606” of FIG. 3 is associated with Greenwich Mean Time offset 410“−21600” via correlation with first metro identifier 312 “Chicago” andwith the second metro identifier 314 “Loop.” The Greenwich Mean Timeoffset 410 is “−21600” in this example because 21,600 seconds equals sixhours and the postal code 310 “60606” corresponds to US Central Time,which is six hours behind Greenwich Mean Time. In some examples, theGreenwich Mean Time offset 410 associated with respective first andsecond metro identifiers 312, 314 may be different than the time zone ofthe postal code 310 also associated with the respective first and secondmetro identifiers 312, 314. In some such examples, the time offset data238 may be dependent on the first and second metro identifiers 312, 314,but independent of the postal codes 310. The data proprietor 216 of FIG.2 uses time offset data 238 to analyze and compare activity pings 218from different locations around the world. As such, the Greenwich MeanTime offset 410, the day start time offset 412, the week start timeoffset 414, and the daylight savings time offset 416 may be defined inany way useful to analyzing and comparing the activity pings 218.

In some examples, the characterizer 214 associates the first and secondmetro identifiers 312, 314 with the respective Greenwich Mean Timeoffset 410, day start time offset 412, week start time offset 414, anddaylight savings time offset 416. In some examples, the associationsbetween first and second metro identifiers 312, 314 and respective timeoffset data 238 may be predetermined. Example structures and methodsused by the characterizer 214 to make associations between the first andsecond metro identifiers 312, 314 and the time offset data 238 will bedescribed below in conjunction with FIGS. 5-6.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example implementation of the characterizer 214 ofthe system 210. The example characterizer 214 of FIG. 5 includes anexample communication interface 512, an example location associator 514,an example characteristic database 516, an example time offsetter 518,and an example configuration generator 520. The characteristic database516 of the illustrated example includes the example location database308 of FIG. 3 and the example time database 408 of FIG. 4. In someexamples, the communication interface 512 receives the hello ping 218from the media player 212. In some further examples, the communicationinterface 512 generates the local timestamp 116 upon receiving the helloping 218. In some examples, the communication interface 512 sends thelocal timestamp 116 to the configuration generator 520. In someexamples, the communication interface 512 sends the global positioningcoordinates 220 included in the hello ping 218 to the locationassociator 514. In some examples the communication interface 512 sendsthe internet protocol address 222 included in the hello ping 218 to thelocation associator 514.

In some examples, the location associator 514 associates the locationidentifiers 219 with the metro data 236 by dynamically looking up thelocation identifiers 219 in the characteristic database 516 and, inparticular, the location database 308. In this manner, the media player212 may be associated with a location described by the metro data 236.

For example, when the location identifiers 219 include globalpositioning coordinates 220, the location associator 514 can search thelocation database 408 in the characteristic database 516 to find thepostal code 310 that contains the global positioning coordinates 220.Because the first and second metro identifiers 312, 314 are associatedwith the postal code 310 in the location database 408, the locationassociator 514 is also able to find and associate the global positioningcoordinates 220 with the first and second metro identifiers 312, 314.Said differently, the location associator 514 may search the locationdatabase 308 for the postal code 310 that encompasses the globalpositioning coordinates 220, may find the respective postal code 310 inthe location database 308 along with the first and second metroidentifiers 312, 314 that belong to the postal code 310, and mayretrieve the respective postal code 310 and first and second metroidentifiers 312, 314, found to be associated with the global positioningcoordinates 220.

As another example, when the location identifiers 219 include internetprotocol addresses 222, the location associator 514 can associate theinternet protocol address 222 with metro data 236 by dynamically lookingup the internet protocol address 222 in the location database 308 in thecharacteristic database 516. For example, the location associator 514can search the location database to find the postal code 310 that coversthe internet protocol address 222. Because the first and second metroidentifiers 312, 314 are associated with the postal code 310 in thelocation database 308, the location associator 514 is able to identifyand associate the first and second metro identifiers 312, 314 with theinternet protocol address 222. Said differently, the location associator514 may examine the location database 308 for the postal code 310 thatincludes the internet protocol address 222, may pinpoint the respectivepostal code 310 in the location database 308 along with the first andsecond metro identifiers 312, 314 that go with the postal code 310, andmay fetch the respective postal code 310 and first and second metroidentifiers 312, 314.

In some examples, the location associator 514 sends the found postalcode 310 and first and second metro identifiers 312, 314, or, moregenerally, the metro data 236 found to correspond to the locationidentifiers 219 from the hello ping 218, to the configuration generator520. Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, the locationassociator 514 transmits the retrieved first and second metroidentifiers 312, 314 to the time offsetter 518. In this manner, thelocation associator 514 reports the location of the media player 212 tothe configuration generator 520 and/or the time offsetter 518.

In some examples, the time offsetter 518 associates the first and secondmetro identifiers 312, 314, which were found by the location associator514 as corresponding to the location of the media player 212, with timeoffset data 238 by dynamically looking up the first and second metroidentifiers 312, 314 in the time database 408 of the characteristicdatabase 516. Thus, the media player 212 may be associated with one ormore of the time offsets 410, 412, 414, 416. For example, the timeoffsetter 518 may search the time database 408 for the first and secondmetro identifiers 312, 314, may locate the first and second metroidentifiers 312, 314, and find the time offset data 238 (e.g., the timeoffsets 410, 412, 414, and/or 416) linked with the first and secondmetro identifiers 312, 314. Thus, in some examples, the time offsetter518 scans the time database 408 for the first and second metroidentifiers 312, 314 provided by the location associator 514 for themedia player 212 to get the time offset data 238 for the media player212, the time offset data 238 being mapped in advance to the first andsecond metro identifiers 312, 314. The time offsetter 238 then retrievesthe found time offset data 238. In some examples, the time offsetter 238sends the time offset data 238 retrieved for the media player 212 to theconfiguration generator 520.

In some examples, the configuration generator 520 receives metro data236 from the location associator 514, time offset data 238 from the timeoffsetter 518, and the local timestamp 116 from the communicationinterface 512. In some examples, the configuration generator 520generates the daypart identification 110, the week identification 118,and the reporting period identification 120 corresponding to the localtimestamp 116. In some such examples, the configuration generator 520combines the daypart identification 110, the local time stamp 116, theweek identification 118, the reporting period identification 120, themetro data 236, and the time offset data 238 to produce theconfiguration file 234. In some examples, in which the hello ping 218includes the media data 224, the configuration generator 520 combinesthe daypart identification 110, the local timestamp 116, the weekidentification 118, the reporting period identification 120, the metrodata 236, the time offset data 238, and the media data 224 to make theconfiguration file 234. In other words, the configuration generator 520may compile the time offset data 238, the metro data 236, the daypartidentification 110, the local timestamp 116, the week identification118, the reporting period identification 120 (and, depending on thecontents of the hello ping 218, in some examples, the media data 224) togenerate the resultant configuration file 234. In some examples, theconfiguration generator 520 then sends the configuration file 234 to thecommunication interface 512.

In some examples, the communication interface 512 after receiving theconfiguration file 234 from the configuration generator 520, thecommunication interface 512 then sends the configuration file 234 to themedia player 212.

From the foregoing, it will be understood and appreciated that thecharacterizer 214 may receive the hello ping 218 as input from the mediaplayer 212 and output the configuration file 234 to the media player 212based on the hello ping 218. Further, the characterizer 214 may assembleinformation that characterizes the local timestamp 116 associated withthe hello ping 218, such as the daypart identification 110, the weekidentification 118, the reporting period identification 120, the metrodata 236 and/or the time offset data 238, and combine thatcharacterizing information with the local timestamp 116 and, in someexamples, the media data 224 to produce the configuration file 234 forthe media player 212. As such, it will be understood and appreciatedthat the produced configuration file 234 may, therefore, record thelocation of the media player 212 at a particular local time along withinformation relating the local time of the media player 212 to otherlocal time(s) in different locale(s), such as other time zone(s). Bygenerating the configuration file 234 with the characterizer 214, themedia player 212 may be associated with a location and a time offset. Bygenerating and sending the activity ping 240 with the media player 212,the location and time offset associated with the media player 212 may betransmitted to the data proprietor. By processing the activity ping 240with the data proprietor, a time-normalized report of the habits andpreferences of the user of the media player 212 may be produced based onthe location and the time offset. Example methods to implement thesystem 210 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5 are more fully described in FIG. 6and below.

While an example manner of implementing the system 210 of FIG. 2 isillustrated in FIGS. 3-5, one or more of the elements, processes and/ordevices illustrated in FIGS. 3-5 may be combined, divided, re-arranged,omitted, eliminated and/or implemented in any other way. Further, theexample hello ping generator 213, the example network 217, the exampleactivity ping generator 239, the example activity ping processor 242,the example location database 308, the example time database 408, theexample communication interface 512, the example location associator514, the example characteristic database 516, the example time offsetter518, the example configuration generator 520, and/or, more generally,the example media player 212, the example characterizer 214, and theexample data proprietor 216 of FIGS. 2 and 5 may be implemented byhardware, software, firmware and/or any combination of hardware,software and/or firmware. Thus, for example, any of the example helloping generator 213, the example network 217, the example activity pinggenerator 239, the example activity ping processor 242, the examplelocation database 308, the example time database 408, the examplecommunication interface 512, the example location associator 514, theexample characteristic database 516, the example time offsetter 518, theexample configuration generator 520, and/or, more generally, the examplemedia player 212, the example characterizer 214, and the example dataproprietor 216 of FIGS. 2 and 5 could be implemented by one or moreanalog or digital circuit(s), logic circuits, programmable processor(s),application specific integrated circuit(s) (ASIC(s)), programmable logicdevice(s) (PLD(s)) and/or field programmable logic device(s) (FPLD(s)).When reading any of the apparatus or system claims of this patent tocover a purely software and/or firmware implementation, at least one ofthe example, the example media player 212, hello ping generator 213, theexample characterizer 214, the example data proprietor 216, the examplenetwork 217, the example activity ping generator 239, the exampleactivity ping processor 242 the example location database 308, theexample time database 408, the example communication interface 512, theexample location associator 514, the example characteristic database516, the example time offsetter 518, and/or the example configurationgenerator 520, are hereby expressly defined to include a tangiblecomputer readable storage device or storage disk such as a memory, adigital versatile disk (DVD), a compact disk (CD), a Blu-ray disk, etc.storing the software and/or firmware. Further still, the examplecharacterizer 214 of FIGS. 2 and 5 may include one or more elements,processes and/or devices in addition to, or instead of, thoseillustrated in FIGS. 2 and 5, and/or may include more than one of any orall of the illustrated elements, processes and devices.

Flowcharts representative of example machine readable instructions forimplementing the system 210 of FIGS. 2 and 5 are shown in FIGS. 6-10. Inthis example, the machine readable instructions comprise a program forexecution by a processor such as the processors 1112, 1212, 1312 shownin the example processor platforms 1110, 1210, 1310 discussed below inconnection with FIGS. 11-13. The program may be embodied in softwarestored on a tangible computer readable storage medium such as a CD-ROM,a floppy disk, a hard drive, a digital versatile disk (DVD), a Blu-raydisk, or a memory associated with the processors 1112, 1212, 1312, butthe entire program and/or parts thereof could alternatively be executedby a device other than the processors 1112, 1212, 1312 and/or embodiedin firmware or dedicated hardware. Further, although the example programis described with reference to the flowchart illustrated in FIGS. 6-10,many other methods of implementing the example system 210 mayalternatively be used. For example, the order of execution of the blocksmay be changed, and/or some of the blocks described may be changed,eliminated, or combined.

As mentioned above, the example processes of FIGS. 6-10 may beimplemented using coded instructions (e.g., computer and/or machinereadable instructions) stored on a tangible computer readable storagemedium such as a hard disk drive, a flash memory, a read-only memory(ROM), a compact disk (CD), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a cache, arandom-access memory (RAM) and/or any other storage device or storagedisk in which information is stored for any duration (e.g., for extendedtime periods, permanently, for brief instances, for temporarilybuffering, and/or for caching of the information). As used herein, theterm tangible computer readable storage medium is expressly defined toinclude any type of computer readable storage device and/or storage diskand to exclude propagating signals and transmission media. As usedherein, “tangible computer readable storage medium” and “tangiblemachine readable storage medium” are used interchangeably. Additionallyor alternatively, the example processes of FIG. 6-10 may be implementedusing coded instructions (e.g., computer and/or machine readableinstructions) stored on a non-transitory computer and/or machinereadable medium such as a hard disk drive, a flash memory, a read-onlymemory, a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a cache, arandom-access memory and/or any other storage device or storage disk inwhich information is stored for any duration (e.g., for extended timeperiods, permanently, for brief instances, for temporarily buffering,and/or for caching of the information). As used herein, the termnon-transitory computer readable medium is expressly defined to includeany type of computer readable storage device and/or storage disk and toexclude propagating signals and transmission media. As used herein, whenthe phrase “at least” is used as the transition term in a preamble of aclaim, it is open-ended in the same manner as the term “comprising” isopen ended.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions 600 which may be executed to implement the system 210 ofFIGS. 2 and 5 to add location and time offset data to digital audiomedia reporting data. The example instructions 600 may be performed, forexample, to produce and send an activity ping that includes media data,a local timestamp, metro data, and time offset data.

The example media player 212 of FIGS. 2 and 5 provides a hello ping(block 610). The example characterizer 214 of FIGS. 2 and 5 provides aconfiguration file based on the hello ping to the media player 212(block 620). The media player 212 provides an activity ping based on theconfiguration file to the example data proprietor 216 of FIG. 2 (block630). The data proprietor 216 provides a report based on the activityping (block 640).

FIG. 7 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions for implementing processing at block 610 of the exampleprogram 600 of FIG. 6. In the example of FIG. 7, to provide a helloping, the example hello ping generator 213 of the media player 212generates the hello ping (block 712). In some examples, the examplehello ping generator 213 of the media player 212 generates the helloping to include a location identifier. In some examples, the locationidentifier may be at least one of global positioning coordinates or aninternet protocol address. In some examples, the hello ping generator213 of the media player 212 generates the hello ping to include a localtimestamp and media data. The hello ping generator 213 of the mediaplayer 212 then sends the generated hello ping to the characterizer 214of FIGS. 2 and 5 via the network 217 (block 714).

FIG. 8 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions for implementing processing at block 620 of the exampleprogram 600 of FIG. 6. In the example of FIG. 8, to provide aconfiguration file, the example communication interface 512 of FIG. 5 ofthe example characterizer 214 receives the hello ping from the helloping generator 213 of the media player 212 (block 806). Thecommunication interface 512 then sends the location identifier to theexample location associator 514 of FIG. 5 (block 808).

The location associator 514 uses the location identifier to associatethe media player 212 with a location (block 810) by looking up thelocation identifier in the example location database 308 of FIGS. 3 and5 included in the characteristic database 516 of FIG. 5 (subblock 812)and retrieving location-descriptive metro data respective to thelocation identifier from the location database 308 (subblock 814). Insome examples, the metro data may include postal codes and first andsecond metro identifiers. In some examples, the location associator 514sends the metro data to the example time offsetter of FIG. 5 (block816). In some examples, the example location associator sends the metrodata to the example configuration generator 520 of FIG. 5. (block 818).

The time offsetter 518 uses the metro data, specifically the first andsecond metro identifiers, to associate the media player 212 with timeoffset data (block 820) by looking up the metro data in the example timedatabase 408 of FIGS. 4 and 5 included in the characteristic database516 (subblock 822) and retrieving the time offset data from the exampletime database 408 (subblock 824). In some examples, the time offset datamay include a Greenwich Mean Time offset, a day start offset, a weekstart offset, and a daylight offset. The time offsetter 518 then sendsthe time offset data to the configuration generator 520 (block 826).

Looking back, after receiving the hello ping (block 806), thecommunication interface 512 further determines whether the hello pingincludes a local timestamp (block 830). If the hello ping does notinclude the local timestamp, the communication interface 512 generatesthe local timestamp (block 832) and sends the generated local timestampto the configuration generator 520 (block 834). In some examples, thecommunication interface 512 bases the local timestamp on when the helloping was received. If the hello ping does include a local timestamp, thecommunication interface 512 sends the local timestamp to theconfiguration generator 520 (block 834).

The communication interface 512 further determines whether the helloping includes media data (block 840). If the hello ping does includemedia data, the communication interface 512 sends the media data to theconfiguration generator 520 (block 842). The configuration generator 520then, based on the local timestamp, generates a daypart identification,a week identification, and a reporting period identification 120 tocombine with the local timestamp, the metro data, the time offset data,and the media data to generate a configuration file (block 844). Theconfiguration generator 520 then sends the configuration file to thecommunication interface 512 (block 846). The communication interface 512then in turn sends the configuration file to the media player 212 viathe network 217 (block 848).

If, however, the communication interface 512 determines that the helloping does not include media data, the configuration generator 520, basedon the local timestamp, generates a daypart identification, a weekidentification, and a reporting period identification to combine withthe local timestamp, the metro data, and the time offset data togenerate a template configuration file (block 850). The configurationgenerator 520 then sends the template configuration file to thecommunication interface 512 (block 852). The communication interface 512in turn sends the template configuration file to the media player 212via the network 217 (block 854).

FIG. 9 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions for implementing processing at block 630 of the exampleprogram 600 of FIG. 6. In the example of FIG. 9, to provide an activityping, the example activity ping generator 239 of the media player 212receives the configuration file from the communication interface 512(block 908). The activity ping generator 239 determines whether theconfiguration file is a template (block 910). If the configuration fileis not a template, the activity ping generator 239 recognizes theconfiguration file as delivered as the activity ping (block 912). Theactivity ping generator 239 then sends the activity ping to the dataproprietor 216 via the network 217 (block 914).

If the configuration file is a template, the activity ping generator 239fills the template configuration file with media data (block 916). Theactivity ping generator 239 then generates an activity ping based on thefilled template configuration file (block 918). The activity pinggenerator 239 then sends the activity ping to the media proprietor 216via the network 217 (block 914).

FIG. 10 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions for implementing processing at block 640 of the exampleprogram 600 of FIG. 6. In the example of FIG. 10, to provide a report,the example activity ping processor 242 of the data proprietor 216receives the activity ping (block 1012). The activity processor 242 thenextracts the media data, the time offset data, the local timestamp, andthe metro data from the received activity ping (block 1014). Theactivity processor 242 then analyzes the extracted data (block 1016). Insome examples, the activity processor 242 analyzes data extracted frommultiple activity pings from multiple media player 212 users. Theactivity processor 242 then generates a report based on the analysis(block 1018). The program 600 then ends.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an example processor platform 1110structured to execute the instructions of FIGS. 7 and 9 to implement themedia player 212 of the system 210 of FIGS. 2 and 5. The processorplatform 1110 can be, for example, a server, a personal computer, amobile device (e.g., a cell phone, a smart phone, a tablet such as aniPad™), a personal digital assistant (PDA), an Internet appliance, a DVDplayer, a CD player, a digital video recorder, a Blu-ray player, agaming console, a personal video recorder, a set top box, or any othertype of computing device.

The processor platform 1110 of the illustrated example includes aprocessor 1112. The processor 1112 of the illustrated example ishardware. For example, the processor 1112 can be implemented by one ormore integrated circuits, logic circuits, microprocessors or controllersfrom any desired family or manufacturer. In the illustrated example, theprocessor 1112 is structured to include the example media player 212,which includes the example hello ping generator 213 and the exampleactivity ping generator 239.

The processor 1112 of the illustrated example includes a local memory1113 (e.g., a cache). The processor 1112 of the illustrated example isin communication with a main memory including a volatile memory 1114 anda non-volatile memory 1116 via a bus 1118. The volatile memory 1114 maybe implemented by Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM),Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), RAMBUS Dynamic Random Access Memory(RDRAM) and/or any other type of random access memory device. Thenon-volatile memory 1116 may be implemented by flash memory and/or anyother desired type of memory device. Access to the main memory 1114,1116 is controlled by a memory controller.

The processor platform 1110 of the illustrated example also includes aninterface circuit 1120. The interface circuit 1120 may be implemented byany type of interface standard, such as an Ethernet interface, auniversal serial bus (USB), and/or a PCI express interface.

In the illustrated example, one or more input devices 1122 are connectedto the interface circuit 1120. The input device(s) 1122 permit(s) a userto enter data and commands into the processor 1112. The input device(s)can be implemented by, for example, an audio sensor, a microphone, acamera (still or video), a keyboard, a button, a mouse, a touchscreen, atrack-pad, a trackball, isopoint and/or a voice recognition system.

One or more output devices 1124 are also connected to the interfacecircuit 1120 of the illustrated example. The output devices 1124 can beimplemented, for example, by display devices (e.g., a light emittingdiode (LED), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a liquid crystaldisplay, a cathode ray tube display (CRT), a touchscreen, a tactileoutput device, a light emitting diode (LED), a printer and/or speakers).The interface circuit 1120 of the illustrated example, thus, typicallyincludes a graphics driver card, a graphics driver chip or a graphicsdriver processor.

The interface circuit 1120 of the illustrated example also includes acommunication device such as a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver, amodem and/or network interface card to facilitate exchange of data withexternal machines (e.g., computing devices of any kind) via a network1126 (e.g., an Ethernet connection, a digital subscriber line (DSL), atelephone line, coaxial cable, a cellular telephone system, etc.).

The processor platform 1110 of the illustrated example also includes oneor more mass storage devices 1128 for storing software and/or data.Examples of such mass storage devices 1128 include floppy disk drives,hard drive disks, compact disk drives, Blu-ray disk drives, RAIDsystems, and digital versatile disk (DVD) drives.

The coded instructions 1132 of FIGS. 7 and 9 may be stored in the massstorage device 1128, in the volatile memory 1114, in the non-volatilememory 1116, and/or on a removable tangible computer readable storagemedium such as a CD or DVD.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of an example processor platform 1210structured to execute the instructions of FIG. 8 to implement thecharacterizer 214 of the system 210 of FIGS. 2 and 5. The processorplatform 1210 can be, for example, a server, a personal computer, amobile device (e.g., a cell phone, a smart phone, a tablet such as aniPad™), a personal digital assistant (PDA), an Internet appliance, a DVDplayer, a CD player, a digital video recorder, a Blu-ray player, agaming console, a personal video recorder, a set top box, or any othertype of computing device.

The processor platform 1210 of the illustrated example includes aprocessor 1212. The processor 1212 of the illustrated example ishardware. For example, the processor 1212 can be implemented by one ormore integrated circuits, logic circuits, microprocessors or controllersfrom any desired family or manufacturer. In the illustrated example, theprocessor 1212 is structured to include the example characterizer 214,which includes the example location associator 514, the example timeoffsetter 518, and the example configuration generator 520.

The processor 1212 of the illustrated example includes a local memory1213 (e.g., a cache). The processor 1212 of the illustrated example isin communication with a main memory including a volatile memory 1214 anda non-volatile memory 1216 via a bus 1218. The volatile memory 1214 maybe implemented by Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM),Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), RAMBUS Dynamic Random Access Memory(RDRAM) and/or any other type of random access memory device. Thenon-volatile memory 1216 may be implemented by flash memory and/or anyother desired type of memory device. Access to the main memory 1214,1216 is controlled by a memory controller.

The processor platform 1210 of the illustrated example also includes aninterface circuit 1220. The interface circuit 1220 may include theexample communication interface 512 of FIG. 5. The interface circuit1220 may be implemented by any type of interface standard, such as anEthernet interface, a universal serial bus (USB), and/or a PCI expressinterface.

In the illustrated example, one or more input devices 1222 are connectedto the interface circuit 1220. The input device(s) 1222 permit(s) a userto enter data and commands into the processor 1212. The input device(s)can be implemented by, for example, an audio sensor, a microphone, acamera (still or video), a keyboard, a button, a mouse, a touchscreen, atrack-pad, a trackball, isopoint and/or a voice recognition system.

One or more output devices 1224 are also connected to the interfacecircuit 1220 of the illustrated example. The output devices 1224 can beimplemented, for example, by display devices (e.g., a light emittingdiode (LED), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a liquid crystaldisplay, a cathode ray tube display (CRT), a touchscreen, a tactileoutput device, a light emitting diode (LED), a printer and/or speakers).The interface circuit 1220 of the illustrated example, thus, typicallyincludes a graphics driver card, a graphics driver chip or a graphicsdriver processor.

The interface circuit 1220 of the illustrated example also includes acommunication device such as a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver, amodem and/or network interface card to facilitate exchange of data withexternal machines (e.g., computing devices of any kind) via a network1226 (e.g., an Ethernet connection, a digital subscriber line (DSL), atelephone line, coaxial cable, a cellular telephone system, etc.).

The processor platform 1210 of the illustrated example also includes oneor more mass storage devices 1228 for storing software and/or data.Examples of such mass storage devices 1228 include floppy disk drives,hard drive disks, compact disk drives, Blu-ray disk drives, RAIDsystems, and digital versatile disk (DVD) drives.

The coded instructions 1232 of FIG. 8 and the example characteristicdatabase 516 of FIG. 5 may be stored in the mass storage device 1228, inthe volatile memory 1214, in the non-volatile memory 1216, and/or on aremovable tangible computer readable storage medium such as a CD or DVD.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of an example processor platform 1110structured to execute the instructions of FIG. 10 to implement the dataproprietor 216 of the system 210 of FIGS. 2 and 5. The processorplatform 1310 can be, for example, a server, a personal computer, amobile device (e.g., a cell phone, a smart phone, a tablet such as aniPad™), a personal digital assistant (PDA), an Internet appliance, a DVDplayer, a CD player, a digital video recorder, a Blu-ray player, agaming console, a personal video recorder, a set top box, or any othertype of computing device.

The processor platform 1310 of the illustrated example includes aprocessor 1312. The processor 1312 of the illustrated example ishardware. For example, the processor 1312 can be implemented by one ormore integrated circuits, logic circuits, microprocessors or controllersfrom any desired family or manufacturer. In the illustrated example, theprocessor 1312 is structured to include the example data proprietor 216,which includes the example activity ping processor 242.

The processor 1312 of the illustrated example includes a local memory1313 (e.g., a cache). The processor 1312 of the illustrated example isin communication with a main memory including a volatile memory 1314 anda non-volatile memory 1316 via a bus 1318. The volatile memory 1314 maybe implemented by Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM),Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), RAMBUS Dynamic Random Access Memory(RDRAM) and/or any other type of random access memory device. Thenon-volatile memory 1316 may be implemented by flash memory and/or anyother desired type of memory device. Access to the main memory 1314,1316 is controlled by a memory controller.

The processor platform 1310 of the illustrated example also includes aninterface circuit 1320. The interface circuit 1320 may be implemented byany type of interface standard, such as an Ethernet interface, auniversal serial bus (USB), and/or a PCI express interface.

In the illustrated example, one or more input devices 1322 are connectedto the interface circuit 1320. The input device(s) 1322 permit(s) a userto enter data and commands into the processor 1312. The input device(s)can be implemented by, for example, an audio sensor, a microphone, acamera (still or video), a keyboard, a button, a mouse, a touchscreen, atrack-pad, a trackball, isopoint and/or a voice recognition system.

One or more output devices 1324 are also connected to the interfacecircuit 1320 of the illustrated example. The output devices 1324 can beimplemented, for example, by display devices (e.g., a light emittingdiode (LED), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a liquid crystaldisplay, a cathode ray tube display (CRT), a touchscreen, a tactileoutput device, a light emitting diode (LED), a printer and/or speakers).The interface circuit 1320 of the illustrated example, thus, typicallyincludes a graphics driver card, a graphics driver chip or a graphicsdriver processor.

The interface circuit 1320 of the illustrated example also includes acommunication device such as a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver, amodem and/or network interface card to facilitate exchange of data withexternal machines (e.g., computing devices of any kind) via a network1326 (e.g., an Ethernet connection, a digital subscriber line (DSL), atelephone line, coaxial cable, a cellular telephone system, etc.).

The processor platform 1310 of the illustrated example also includes oneor more mass storage devices 1328 for storing software and/or data.Examples of such mass storage devices 1328 include floppy disk drives,hard drive disks, compact disk drives, Blu-ray disk drives, RAIDsystems, and digital versatile disk (DVD) drives.

The coded instructions 1332 of FIG. 10 may be stored in the mass storagedevice 1328, in the volatile memory 1314, in the non-volatile memory1316, and/or on a removable tangible computer readable storage mediumsuch as a CD or DVD.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the example methods,apparatus and articles of manufacture disclosed herein may aid inanalyzing, comparing, and understanding how and when digital audio mediais consumed on a global scale. By attaching local time data and locationdata to digital audio media reporting data, the preferences and habitsof media consumers spread across different time zones and latitudes maybe deduced. Learning about digital audio media consumers' preferencesand habits may help digital audio broadcasters to provide music andprograms that digital audio media consumers want to hear and toadditionally deliver targeted advertisements for products that mayinterest digital audio media consumers.

It is noted that this patent claims priority from Indian ProvisionalPatent Application Serial Number 4710/CHE/2015 which is entitled“Methods And Apparatus To Facilitate Local Time-Based Digital AudioMeasurement Based On Market Local Measurement For Digital Audio” and wasfiled on Sep. 5, 2015, and is hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

Although certain example methods, apparatus and articles of manufacturehave been disclosed herein, the scope of coverage of this patent is notlimited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers all methods,apparatus and articles of manufacture fairly falling within the scope ofthe claims of this patent.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: associating, by executing aninstruction with a processor, a media player with a location based on ahello ping received via a network from the media player; associating, byexecuting an instruction with the processor, the media player with atime offset based on the location; generating, by executing aninstruction with the processor, a configuration file including thelocation and the time offset; and sending the configuration file to themedia player via the network.
 2. The method as defined in claim 1,wherein the hello ping includes at least one of a location identifier, alocal timestamp, a media player identifier, a media identifier, or aplayer event identifier.
 3. The method as defined in claim 1, furtherincluding associating the hello ping with a local timestamp.
 4. Themethod as defined in claim 3, wherein the hello ping is associated withthe local timestamp after the hello ping is received.
 5. The method asdefined in claim 1, wherein the associating of the media player with thelocation includes searching a location database using a locationidentifier included in the hello ping to retrieve the location.
 6. Themethod as defined in claim 5, wherein the location database maps postalcodes to metro regions.
 7. The method as defined in claim 6, wherein thelocation database maps global positioning data to postal codes.
 8. Themethod as defined in claim 5, wherein the location database maps globalpositioning data to metro regions.
 9. The method as defined in claim 1,further including populating the configuration file with at least one ofa media player identifier, a media identifier, or a player eventidentifier.
 10. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the timeoffset includes at least one of a Greenwich Mean Time offset, a daylightsavings offset, a day start offset, or a week start offset.
 11. Themethod as defined in claim 1, wherein the association of the mediaplayer with the time offset includes searching a time offset databaseusing the location to retrieve the time offset.
 12. The method asdefined in claim 1, further including: generating an activity ping basedon the configuration file; and sending the activity ping to a dataproprietor.
 13. An apparatus comprising: a location associator toassociate, by executing an instruction with a processor, a media playerwith a location based on a hello ping received via a network from themedia player; a time offsetter to associate, by executing an instructionwith the processor, the media player with a time offset based on thelocation; a configuration file generator to generate, by executing aninstruction with the processor, a configuration file based on thelocation and the time offset; and a communication interface to send theconfiguration file to the media player via the network.
 14. Theapparatus as defined in claim 13, wherein the hello ping includes atleast one of a location identifier, a local timestamp, a media playeridentifier, a media identifier, or a player event identifier.
 15. Theapparatus as defined in claim 13, wherein the time offsetter is furtherto associate a local timestamp with the hello ping corresponding to whenthe hello ping is received.
 16. The apparatus as defined in claim 13,wherein the location associator associates the media player with thelocation by searching a location database using a location identifierincluded in the hello ping to retrieve the location.
 17. The apparatusas defined in claim 16, wherein the location database maps postal codesto metro regions.
 18. The apparatus as defined in claim 17, wherein thelocation database maps global positioning coordinates to postal codes.19. The apparatus as defined in claim 16, wherein the location databasemaps global positioning coordinates to metro regions.
 20. The apparatusas defined in claim 13, wherein the time offsetter associates the mediaplayer with the time offset by searching a time offset database usingthe location to retrieve the time offset.
 21. The apparatus as definedin claim 13, wherein the time offset includes at least one of aGreenwich Mean Time offset, a daylight savings offset, a day startoffset, or a week start offset.
 22. A tangible computer readable storagemedium comprising computer readable instructions which, when executed,cause a processor to at least: associate a media player with a locationbased on a hello ping received via a network from the media player;associate the media player with a time offset based on the location;generate a configuration file including the location and the timeoffset; and send the configuration file to the media player via thenetwork.
 23. The computer readable storage medium as defined in claim22, wherein the hello ping includes at least one of a locationidentifier, a local timestamp, a media player identifier, a mediaidentifier, or a player event identifier.
 24. The computer readablestorage medium as defined in claim 22, wherein the instructions furthercause the processor to associate the hello ping with a local timestamp.25. The computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 24, whereinthe processor associates the hello ping with the local timestamp afterthe hello ping is received.
 26. The computer readable storage medium asdefined in claim 22, wherein the processor associates the media playerwith the location by searching a location database using a locationidentifier included in the hello ping to retrieve the location.
 27. Thecomputer readable storage medium as defined in claim 26, wherein thelocation database maps postal codes to metro regions.
 28. The computerreadable storage medium as defined in claim 27, wherein the locationdatabase maps global positioning coordinates to postal codes.
 29. Thecomputer readable storage medium as defined in claim 26, wherein thelocation database maps global positioning coordinates to metro regions.30. The computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 22, whereinthe instructions further cause the processor to populate theconfiguration file with at least one of a media player identifier, amedia identifier, or a player event identifier.
 31. The computerreadable storage medium as defined in claim 22, wherein the time offsetincludes at least one of a Greenwich Mean Time offset, a daylightsavings offset, a day start offset, or a week start offset.
 32. Thecomputer readable storage medium as defined in claim 22, wherein theprocessor associates the media player with the time offset by searchinga time offset database using the location to retrieve the time offset.33. The computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 22, whereinthe instructions further cause the processor to generate an activityping based on the configuration file; and send the activity ping to adata proprietor.